


Die Erde brennt

by PatternsInTheIvy



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27812782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatternsInTheIvy/pseuds/PatternsInTheIvy
Summary: "Don’t think about it, Mac. Just listen to my voice, ok? Stop  counting in your head, hoss. Forget the clock."
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	Die Erde brennt

“I—I can’t,” Mac stutters, quietly and probably just to his own ears, and that is the first hint that something is going to go wrong. Really wrong. 

Wronger than the fact that they are trapped in a collapsed building from where they already tried to find a way out, but tons of debris keep them inside. But then again, that is the kind of situation that they find themselves every other Sunday - or maybe that’s on Tuesdays...

And there is a ticking bomb. The last time Jack checked, the timer read 8:47, and now they must have around half of that time. 

Mac is muttering something again.

The place is dark, and all the light they have come from the flashlights of their phones.

“Hey, hoss, how are things going there?” he doesn't want to push things, but Mac is acting kinda weird.

When Mac looks up, his face is so pale, his eyes are wide open and very blue against the white light. He has a look that Jack wouldn't usually associate with him. 

Mac is scared.

"Jack, do you see this wire here?" 

Looking to where Mac is pointing, Jack sees a wire that goes from the bomb he is currently trying to disarm to the other side of the room. The wire is covered by seven feet pile of debris.

"What about it?"

"This goes to another part of the bomb, Jack."

"Ok, and?"

Please don't say what Jack is thinking. Please don't say that.

"I can't get to the other side," Mac says and swallows. 

Jack nods mechanically. He gets what Mac is saying, he does. 

"And I can't disarm it if I don't get to the other part."

"Ok, hoss-"

"Ok? Jack, I can't disarm it!" Mac shouts. 

2:32 the timer reads. Less time than Jack had thought.

Mac's hands shake when he rakes them through his hair, tugging sharply at the strands. He turns away and starts to remove debris from the pile. 

That is a hopeless effort, Jack knows it.  _ Mac knows it _ . 

Mac is breathing so loudly as he pulls pieces of concrete and rocks away from the pile, like he can't get enough air into his lungs.

This won't do, at all. 

"Mac!" Jack calls sharply. "Hey, look at me, Mac."

When that doesn't work, Jack reaches out and puts his hands on Mac's shoulders, forcing him to turn and look at Jack.

"I think you know this won't work."

Mac shakes his head and tries to turn around again, but Jack's grip goes to his elbows, holding him. 

"You need to breathe."

"But Jack…" he pants.

"Shhh. No buts, Mac. Just come here," Jack says, taking one of Mac's hands in his, pulling him close. Mac doesn't resist, and Jack holds him against his chest. 

One of Jack's hands goes to Mac's hair, fingers brushing against the softness. 

"That's it. Just breathe now."

Mac is holding Jack's shirt for dear life, and he is still breathing too hard, hot puffs of air hitting Jack's chest. 

"It will be ok," Jack says, glancing at the timer. Less than 90 seconds. 

"Jack, I am sorry," Mac says. "I am so sorry."

"Not your fault, Mac.  _ Never _ your fault, ok?" Jack replies, pressing Mac's head harder against the crook of his neck. "Remember? You go kaboom, I go kaboom. If this is happening, there is nowhere else I'd rather be."

Mac tries to pull away and look at the timer, but Jack just keeps holding him

"Don’t think about it, Mac. Just listen to my voice, ok? Stop counting in your head, hoss. Forget the clock."

But Jack looks at the timer, he keeps staring accusingly at the numbers, all the while he talks, keeps telling a story about growing up in Texas. 

Eventually, Mac's breath does get under control, when there are less than twenty seconds. Jack keeps his hand in Mac's hair and keeps talking.

Until the last second.


End file.
